A few weeks ago I was asked by someone, “Why are you interested in doing things that are different from what everyone else is doing?” in terms of going back to traditional foods.
I can honestly say that I became interested in eating healthier with my first pregnancy about 8 years ago. Of course, I wanted to have the healthiest pregnancy and baby on the planet! But, I also knew that eating fast food, boxed food, and food with pesticides and chemicals sprayed on them (no matter how safe we are assured they are) was inconsistent with my upbringing.
I began to see the foods I grew up on, were not the foods we now bought in the stores. We were not homesteaders or “naturalists,” but farmers who saw the value and worthwhileness of growing a garden to nourish our families. And by value, I mean not only the nutritional value, but the economic value. Growing up in rural Nebraska, it was a given that my parents would feed their own family as much as possible.
In my adult years when the word “organic” first came to play in marketing of foods, it seemed odd to me. I grew up trusting my food sources and I began to see that I was naïve to do so now. We are told so many chemicals and additives are “safe,” but I felt that was inconsistent with my own good common sense that I should not be consuming these on a regular basis. I wish I could say at all, but it is just not always possible where I live. Sometimes, I have to live with something undesirable on the label.
Grass-fed Raw Milk, Organic Potatoes, Organic Cauliflower, Organic Pastured Soy-Free Eggs, Lentils, Beans, Quinoa, Nitrate & Antibiotic Free Bacon, Organic Salted Butter and Dried Apricots.
What is frivolous about these foods I ask? And why do I have to ask for them to be free of so many things?
In my world (in the middle of industrial ag land), words like organic and all-natural are frivolous marketing catch-phrases. My father, who was a hog farmer for most of my life will be the first to tell you, “Pork has always been all-natural.” Which would be true, if we didn’t pump them full of antibiotics.
This is the type of food that people buy when they have a lot of time and money on their hands. Neither of which I possess. Food for “health nuts” or “crazy liberals.” I’m not even all that hung up on having all organic and all-natural foods. While the USDA organic seal used to be one of the ways to guarantee that foods did not contain GMO’s, it’s no longer the case if the ingredients themselves contain GMO’s.
Traditional Foods with a short list of ingredients that I know, understand and can pronounce are what I’m after. They support what I believe is the sustainable way of life we have supported here until about 30 years ago when people were led to believe that bigger was better in farming. Yes, eating more traditionally does require me to cook often and more than others, but not more than I did when I was living at home and in charge of meals for my three brothers.
And yes, the food sometimes does cost more, because it costs more to produce. But, my medical bills are low. My children haven’t had the need to see a physician in over a year. We have not taken prescription drugs in our home in two years. I also now know how to treat a variety of ailments with nourishing foods, herbs and spices used in cooking. Not because I refuse treatment, but because our immunities are high from nutrient dense foods.
I may not have the healthiest babies on the planet, but I can tell that what we are doing certainly is best for us. So, if that is different from “doing what everyone else is doing,” I’m totally ok with it.
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